$100,000 in student loan debt?

Sarah Hay · May 16, 2009

That amount is seriously uncalled for. This is approximately how much my program costs. (Generic RN)

Approximate Costs:

Uniforms$375Laboratory fees325Textbooks900Graduation pin125Field trips100Total$1,825

That isn't counting cost of classes but I have a scholarship that pays for that.

eriksoln, BSN, RN · May 16, 2009

Honestly is anyone taking into consideration location in this discussion. Because even the state schools are not cheap in the state ( cheaper than private, yes,but not cheap enough to do a 5 year wait list) 100 grand doesn't seem like an amount I should curl up and die over as some of you stated. Does it stink? Sure. However its completely doable to pay off. I know MANY people in other careers(Artists,unemployed Lawyers, psychologists, teaching, and english majors) who paid the same for the education and wont get close to making what I make within the next 2-3 years. So I guess seeing the other end of the spectrum makes me feel lucky and even **gasp** financial stable and secure.

Location never came up cause its not an explination. Even if you are in downtown NY, beachside CA or going to school in Hawaii I can not imagine spending 100K. I just cant. My imagination will not go out that far.

I was RECKLESS with money and earned myself the 23K debt. And I mean..............my concept of money and what sort of job I'd have when it was all said and done was off line by........I wasnt even in the same hemisphere as reality.

To imagine the amt. of recklessness that would have to take place to go almost 5 times the level I did is beyond me. Thats two families worth of poor spending habits, not one person's.

Reminds me of a heated thread on a video game forum I go to. Couple kids got their feathers all in a ruffle when I suggested owing more than one home system was wasteful.:argue: The sense of entiltlement is rampant in there. Now mind you, these are people in their 20's, living at home rent free, going to school PART TIME, not working..............but they find the money to own an Xbox and Playstation3. Even own THE SAME VIDEO GAME FOR EACH SYSTEM TO COMPARE THEM. :down: Thats my tax dollars going to these kids in school loans so they can live it up like this.

100K to be a nurse is just foolish, period............in CA, PA or out of the states..........whatever spin you put on it. When other people are spending less than 10K to get the same degree and be competent at the same job.........what entitles the 100K person to the extra luxuries along the way.

What makes it so frustrating is......our government has gone into a "save the debtors" mode all of a sudden. So, the one spending 100K along the way will be given breaks, while the one who was responsible and toughed it out a little bit.............is overlooked. :down:

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · May 16, 2009

This whole economy is in a mess because of unreasonable advances of credit. People way over extending themselves with credit and companies giving these people this credit.

I wouldn't roll over and die if I had 100,000 or more dollar debt IF there was a house behind behind.

If it was for loans to get a ADN or BSN to achieve ONLY an RN Lic. I would not do it. I think to casually think a 100,000 dollar debt is totally doable like it's no big deal to carry that much debt ONLY in school loans, is scary in itself. Especially when you will be working as a Registered Nurse, with an average start pay of around 24-25 dollars an hour, sure in CA RN's are starting off making more, they also have to pay insane housing costs as well and the increase is covering the higher cost of living, so it's still coming out to around the same.

MD's rack about around the SAME amount of debt (think I seen on here they rack up around 100-150 thousand) and they are in school A LOT longer and will be getting a much better pay. So in their cases I can see that and with there income it absolutely is more doable and more understandable.

I also think it's highly unrealistic to think if you are living on a NEW Grad RN income and are paying your own bills, (meaning someone else isn't paying your rent, utilities and so on) that you will be making enough to pay off over 100,000 dollars of loans in only a couple years.

At the end of the day though, I can only say, THANK GOD it isn't me or my debt. I will be happily living my life without out ANY debt (with the exception of a House) in about 3 years max. Last month my husband bought me a new car (not brand new, new to me) a very nice one, one that will last me many years and is large enough for our whole family. We paid cash for it. I can not even explain how liberating that was.

I took us rising up the ladder financially, to hitting rock bottom with a LOT of debt, to rising up again for us to finally "Get it" with also the help of Mr. Dave Ramsey. But going through all that only made it worth it.

sunshine0509 · May 16, 2009

I will graduate with my masters about 70K in debt..Im okay with that. I think of it in two positive ways:

Either number 1- At such a young age you have the rest of your life to pay it off. Over 25 years my payments will be about 525/month.

Number 2- A nurse practitioner makes 60-70K out of school. Live off 30K for three years and pay it off! Being young without many other expenses living off 30K is very reasonable.

I rather do a private school accelerated program and take the debt for the quality of life it will give me. Instead of struggling working/going to school for two year at community college for a ADN, I will go to school for two years be done my education and get to start life! :)

Also people going to undergraduate private schools for 4 years would have to take out massive loans if their parents weren't paying. But if they had stayed home and went to their public university would they have had the same experiences? Met the same people? I know living in NJ going to Rutgers means 90% NJ residents. I went to school out of state just to meet new people ! You only live once.

whoknows56 · May 16, 2009

Wow ! So far I've gotten myself into 3, 000 worth of debt and I may be using an extra 2,000 for summer. I have used 75 % to pay for classes and books and 25 % for spending. My goal is to not have to owe no more than 10, 000. I've been also blessed to have a scholarship for all my prereqs, so the only classes I had to pay for was my nursing classes.

It can add up fast.

Freshman year: $5,500 has to be paid back (FAFSA stuff)

Soph year: $5,500 has to be paid back (FAFSA stuff)

Junior year: $5,500 has to be paid back (FAFSA stuff)

Senior year: $5,500 has to be paid back (FAFSA stuff)

5th year ?: $5,500 has to be paid back (FAFSA stuff)

Now, do you have enough to cover the rest of your tuition (depends on the school you attend), books, room and board? Where I went to school, room and board is $6,000 a year. Most students still averaged $4,000 a SEMESTER left to pay in tuition on their own. Where I went to school, about the only flexible job us college students could get were resident care type of jobs that pay less than $9 an hour and you never can find anything full-time.

Even saying what I said, $100,000 is on the extreme side.

whoknows56 · May 16, 2009

This whole economy is in a mess because of unreasonable advances of credit. People way over extending themselves with credit and companies giving these people this credit.
I wouldn't roll over and die if I had 100,000 or more dollar debt IF there was a house behind behind.
If it was for loans to get a ADN or BSN to achieve ONLY an RN Lic. I would not do it. I think to casually think a 100,000 dollar debt is totally doable like it's no big deal to carry that much debt ONLY in school loans, is scary in itself. Especially when you will be working as a Registered Nurse, with an average start pay of around 24-25 dollars an hour, sure in CA RN's are starting off making more, they also have to pay insane housing costs as well and the increase is covering the higher cost of living, so it's still coming out to around the same.
MD's rack about around the SAME amount of debt (think I seen on here they rack up around 100-150 thousand) and they are in school A LOT longer and will be getting a much better pay. So in their cases I can see that and with there income it absolutely is more doable and more understandable.
I also think it's highly unrealistic to think if you are living on a NEW Grad RN income and are paying your own bills, (meaning someone else isn't paying your rent, utilities and so on) that you will be making enough to pay off over 100,000 dollars of loans in only a couple years.
At the end of the day though, I can only say, THANK GOD it isn't me or my debt. I will be happily living my life without out ANY debt (with the exception of a House) in about 3 years max. Last month my husband bought me a new car (not brand new, new to me) a very nice one, one that will last me many years and is large enough for our whole family. We paid cash for it. I can not even explain how liberating that was.
I took us rising up the ladder financially, to hitting rock bottom with a LOT of debt, to rising up again for us to finally "Get it" with also the help of Mr. Dave Ramsey. But going through all that only made it worth it.

The average med school debt these days is around $170k. It's only going to get worse as tuition keeps going up and up. Some med schools charge $80,000 a year just on tuition. That's a complete rip off.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · May 16, 2009

The average med school debt these days is around $170k. It's only going to get worse as tuition keeps going up and up. Some med schools charge $80,000 a year just on tuition. That's a complete rip off.

I have seen some people post here around 100-150, you say 170, so lets just say 150 to be safe. A Doctor is in Med School for how long???? A heckuva lot longer than an RN. They are living off those loans for a long time and their Income is going to way surpass the starting pay of an RN. So I can at least see a justification for that.

I can not see ANY justification for over 100 grand in debt to obtain your RN Lic. JMO

cmonkey · May 16, 2009

Long gone are the days when a student can pay their way through college and avoid having any debt. Unless you are very rich or very poor, there is really no way to avoid it.
Consider that for in-state tuition you can figure on paying between 10K and 20K per year. Add on to that if you need a meal plan, dorm-expenses, rent, utility bills etc... even if you're able to scratch out about $200/week waiting tables, you're still going to have to take out extra for books, living expenses, cell phone, transportation etc. All that adds up very very quickly.
:o:o

I admit that I'm only 2 pages into this discussion, but this caught my eye. Apologies if I'm repeaing anyone.

I don't think this is necessarily true. I'm going to be attending a community college for my ADN and they state that tuition is about $7K for the program. Since I already have a BA (and loans, alas), my tuition for the ADN program will be a lot lower; all I have to take are the core classes. Landing a job does NOT require attending a big name school.

Also, lots of companies will pay for employees to continue their education, so getting an LPN or ADN then going to school part-time on the employer's dime is a great way a BSN or more.

Lovely_RN, MSN · May 17, 2009

I have about 65k in student loans but I didn't acquire them all from nursing school. The majority was for a B.A from a private college and since I was a 2nd degree student I didn't qualify for any FA for nursing school. I paid some tuition out of pocket but I couldn't afford to pay for everything. I didn't want to go that route but I had tried for years to finish pre-reqs at CUNY and after 10 years of going nowhere with my goal of becoming an RN I just wanted to be done with it. The whole reason I ended up with my first B.A was due to going to a CUNY school and graduating with an AA in liberal arts degree after not being able to get into the nursing program. I transferred to a private college, changed majors, and racked up a lot of debt for a B.A in communications (what was I thinking?) a degree that didn't pay the bills.

Where I live an RN doesn't make less than 60k and that's low balling it, with no OT (which I want to avoid) and no differentials. With my husband's salary we will be making well over 100k so I know I can make the payments even though I would rather spend my money on something else. Luckily more than half of those loans were locked in at 4% back during the good old days. The rest I will pay 6.8% interest on and that will hurt a bit more but it's doable as long as I don't move to a state where they pay RNs $20/hr.

I'm am DONE paying for school though. From here on out I am only going to work for places that offer tuition reimbursement for the BSN and the MSN.

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · May 17, 2009

What makes it so frustrating is......our government has gone into a "save the debtors" mode all of a sudden. So, the one spending 100K along the way will be given breaks, while the one who was responsible and toughed it out a little bit.............is overlooked.

Grrrr. This kills me as well. The reckless people who waste get saved by our government, and those of us who struggled to save and behave responsibly get the shaft.

Number 2- A nurse practitioner makes 60-70K out of school.

Umm. I make that now with my ADN program that I attended with zero debt.

Also people going to undergraduate private schools for 4 years would have to take out massive loans if their parents weren't paying. But if they had stayed home and went to their public university would they have had the same experiences? Met the same people? I know living in NJ going to Rutgers means 90% NJ residents. I went to school out of state just to meet new people ! You only live once.

Not true. People can attend less classes while WORKING too. Plenty of people do it. Even if its waiting tables. They do what they need to do to not be reckelss with money.

And spending 100k for a undergraduate nursing degree is reckless. No doubt about it.

imalilteapott · May 17, 2009

I have to say...Im kinda offended. I was not at anytime "reckless"

Let me break it down for you people saying it's near impossible

At first, I wanted to be an artist.... nursing wasnt even on the radar- soo...

1st- 25,000 Private theater conservatory at university

2nd-25,000 Private theater conservatory

3rd-25,000 Private theater conservatory

Begining of 4th- 10,000 theater

----- oh my god I want to be a nurse ----but I have only taken theater classes (oh and some journalism classes as my "back up")------------

Second half of 4th- CC 7,000 ( paid out of pocket)

5th- want to get BSN since I almost finished my BFA 20,000 at private school

6th-20,000 at private school

6.5- 10,000 at private school.

I worked full time all 6.5 years while in school. I did get many scholarships. Never used loans for living..just for school, books, classes, and fees.

Most of my loans were taken out for my performing arts degree. However, once I switched to nursing there was no way..I was going to settle for a ASN after being in college for 3 and half years.

Thats how it happens. I am hoping I gave some of you a little more insight to us reckless nurses with lots of loans. Most of it Im willing to bet is nurses who picked nursing later.

sunshine0509 · May 17, 2009

originally posted by sunshine0509

number 2- a nurse practitioner makes 60-70k out of school.

umm. i make that now with my adn program that i attended with zero debt.

- well if this is true then that is good news! any nurse should be able to pay back 100k in debt then !

originally posted by sunshine0509

also people going to undergraduate private schools for 4 years would have to take out massive loans if their parents weren't paying. but if they had stayed home and went to their public university would they have had the same experiences? met the same people? i know living in nj going to rutgers means 90% nj residents. i went to school out of state just to meet new people ! you only live once.

not true. people can attend less classes while working too. plenty of people do it. even if its waiting tables. they do what they need to do to not be reckelss with money.

- undergrad private schools are around 30k a year+ living expenses...i dont know anyone who can make that much in a year waiting table while going to nursing school full time.